The Baltimore Ravens' backs are against the wall.
Ironically, their playoff chances at this point are also dependent on the back of their superstar quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Jackson left Sunday Night Football with an apparent lower-back injury and never returned. Tyler Huntley closed out the game, a narrow loss to the Patriots in which the Ravens blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
And now all the Ravens fans wait to see if Jackson can return. Baltimore needs to win each of its two remaining games to have any chance of the postseason.
The Ravens are back on the field Saturday against the Green Bay Packers, so Jackson gets one fewer potential day to recover.
"The Ravens have a history of struggling without Jackson," ESPN's Jamison Hensley wrote on Monday. "During his time as Baltimore's starting quarterback (midway through the 2018 season), the Ravens are 76-29 (.724) with him and 5-11 (.313) without him. The Ravens' average points per game with Jackson as the starter is 28.4, but that drops to 16.2 points without him."
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Hensley added that at this point, it's uncertain whether Jackson will be available to play Saturday.
He's had a season full of injuries, including three games missed with a hamstring problem and a bunch of practices sat out since then for a variety of ailments.
Jackson hasn't been at his best, and maybe that's in part because of all the various bumps and bruises, but Baltimore can't afford to go into these final two weeks without their two-time MVP leading the way.
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